"The Governor believes the President is wrong to use a school shooting to undermine the Second Amendment," Press Secretary Sean Lansing said in a statement Wednesday, referring to the shooting deaths of 20 elementary school students and six adults last month in Newtown, Conn.

"The President is abusing his authority by taking action without Congress and seeking to restrict responsible, law-abiding citizens' access to firearms and ammunition," Lansing added.

In a highly anticipated press conference on Wednesday, Obama unveiled a $500 million package to reduce gun crimes, including a requirement for universal background checks. The president also urged lawmakers to renew a now-expired ban originally passed in 1994 on military-style assault
weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Obama also used his presidential powers to enact 23 other gun control measures that do not require legislative action. These include giving schools more flexibility to use federal grant money to improve school safety, ordering federal agencies to make information more readily available for background checks and directing further research on gun violence.

Lansing said the president's sweeping measures were not in line with the governor's reading of the constitutional right to bear arms. He added that Jindal's proposal favored "common-sense legislation that will protect our kids and keep guns out of the hands of the seriously mentally ill through enhanced mental health reporting standards."

Jindal's gun safety proposal, if enacted, would allow the state to report "severely mentally ill" residents to a national database during gun purchases. The National Instant Background Check System is set up to prevent those with criminal records or serious mental health issues from buying guns.

"Louisiana has weak gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market and allow the sale of guns without background checks," the campaign site said. No state permit is required to possess a rifle, shotgun, or a handgun and the state also allows citizens to carry a concealed weapon with a proper permit.

In November, voters in the state approved a constitutional amendment requiring the most stringent
standard be used when determining whether regulations infringe on the right to
keep and bear arms.